Today I’m sharing with you my vintage Betsy Wetsy 16 inch baby doll clothes pattern #5730 from Simplicity. This is an adorable little pattern with so much to offer!
But if you read the back of the pattern, none of the suggested fabrics include felt:
Personally, I can’t imagine why this pattern wouldn’t suggest felt for use with the baby bunting (View 5), the little raglan-sleeved jacket (also view 5), and the pretty little coat with a collar (view 2) as well as its bonnet.
You could even use it for the summer top or dress shown in view 3. Take a closer look:
I mean, that little coat with a collar just screams, “Make me out of felt!” if you ask me…
So why didn’t they suggest felt for these garments?
Well, there are some benefits to using felt when sewing doll clothes, but there are drawbacks too.
First let’s look at the benefits:
- you don’t have to hem felt
- felt is very inexpensive and comes in smaller pieces, which is great for doll clothes
- felt is soft to the touch, so children enjoy playing with it
- it’s easy to sew felt either by hand or on a sewing machine
But as I’ve said, there are drawbacks too:
- felt is not conducive to gathering and it bunches up when using elastic
- felt is easily damaged over time, with rough play
- if you use Velcro on a felt closure, you run the risk of catching the fabric in the closure
- the color of felt can fade dramatically over time
- felt can fall apart when you clean it in a washing machine
So, although felt would be great for a lot of the garments shown in Simplicity doll clothes pattern 5730, I can also understand why they wouldn’t recommend it.
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Thank you for this article. I just watched a video on YouTube where she made a dress from felt for an 18″ doll even though Barbie mainly gets the felt treatment. I also bought an expensive pattern for a boy doll where the vest says felt, but I want to use socks as fabric. But now I have a reference for using felt in the future. Thank you so much.
You’re so welcome! Thank you for taking the time to leave this heartfelt comment. 🧡
In as much as this pattern was created in the “50’s”?, at that time, felt was made of wool. This was susceptible to bug infestations and would turn to powder and disintegrate. Many of the things I have that used wool felt of that time, such as Raggety Ann’s nose and some Christmas decorations have become a pile of powder in the box.
Your Raggedy Ann’s nose? Oh, how sad!
Thank you for reminding all of us about this.